Fireflies and Klaviers

Day 354, Cocktails 357 & 358

Friday night and both Gwen and I were ready for a fun evening.  I had been in Texas for the bulk of the week and it was hectic getting started up on the new job.  It had also been a busy week for Gwen with lots of activities for the girls that had to be taken care of.  So when Friday rolled around we were ready to celebrate our birthdays in style (Gwen’s is coming up next week). 

Our first stop of the evening was the Firefly Urban Bar + Grill for dinner (using my trusty Groupon!) and a drink.  Firefly is located in Wauwatos and has a very hip and slightly upscale vibe – so definately wear your best t-shirt when you go, as the one of the girls at the table next to us did.  The food is varied and ranges from appetizers to sandwiches to full dinners that are twists on traditional comfort type foods.  The pork chops that we both ordered were good, and the speciality cocktails were very good.  Gwen had the White Cosmopolitan, which I won’t report on (since I only tasted it) while I went with the Metaxa Side Car.  Consisting of Metaxa, a greek brandy that is a blend of brandy and wine, Patron Citronage, orange and lemon juice, this was a very nice, mellow cocktail.  It’s flavors were multilayered with the orange and just a hint of lemon made dark, silky and almost chocolatey by the Metaxa, with a hint of the Patron lurking in the background.  Very smooth and not too sweet but not boozy either.  I definately recommend this cocktail if you visit Firefly.

After dinner we headed back to Germantown and stopped by the Klavier Lounge.  We both had their special for the night, a Berry Mojito.  Consisting of Bacardi Dragon Berry rum, simple syrup, grapefruit, lime and garnished with a mint sprig this was propietor Kris Peters’ twist on the classic mojito.  This cocktail had a nice, sweet flavor that goes over big with the girls.  I also enjoyed mine, but one was enough for me on the sweet scale and I moved on the a Rusty Nail and then Monterrey Mules for the rest of the night.  As usual though, it was a lively time at the Klavier and we enjoyed ourselves immensely!

Cheers!

Stop the Presses!

Day 235, Cocktail 233

On Thursday night I stopped by the Klavier to talk cocktails with Kris Peters.   I filled her on some more options for her ginger flavored brandy and then we started to talk about some of the other liqueurs and liquors that she has.  It didn’t take very long for Kris to pull a bottle of Van Gogh Acai Blueberry flavored vodka down.  I have to admit, it smelled just like blueberries.  Most of this stems from the fact that Van Gogh flavored vodkas are infused with the flavors they are adding rather than just using added flavorings.  The infusion process yeilds a much truer and deeper flavor.  Regular readers know that I’m not a big fan of flavored vodkas, but I have to admit that this was pretty good.

The drink that Kris made was a Blueberry Press.  It consisted of the aforementioned Van Gogh Acai Blueberry vodka, a dash of Limoncello (a delightful Italian lemon flavored liqueur), seltzer water and lemon lime soda.  Kris garnished the drink with a lemon wedge.  It was terrific!  Light, refreshing and tasting like blueberry pancakes, I could easily drink several of these in a night!

If you are in the vicinity of Germantown and haven’t stopped by the Klavier yet, you really should.  Ask Kris to make one of their speciality cocktails or presses and tell her that Stan sent you!

Cheers!

Just Hear Those Sleigh Bells…

Day 228, Cocktail 226

One of my first and most famous cocktails was on the agenda Thursday night, all by happenstance.  This cocktail was originally invented two years ago for the Christmas holidays and made its debut at the NID Christmas cocktail party.  Andrea, in particular, enjoyed this cocktail so much that we had to change the name from the Sleigh Ride to the Sleigh Wreck.  According to Andrea, “Too many of these and you’ll be dancing like an elf with a tablecloth on your head! hahahaha Wrecked me for the whole next day!!!”

So Thursday I stopped by the Klavier for a quick cocktail and Chris Peters, the owner, was there.  She offered up a Sleigh Wreck to celebrate it hitting the menu there.  Woo hoo, the big time now, on a lounge menu!  Later that night I was at Ivee’s for my usual Beat Stan at Trivia night and again was offered a Sleigh Wreck by Davey.  Twice in one night!

So, with out further adieu, The Sleigh Wreck:

  Sleigh Wreck

• 1-1/2 oz Plymouth gin
• 1/2 oz Chambord
• 1/2 oz lemon juice
• 2 oz cranberry juice

Combine the ingredients in a shaker and shake, shake, shake to mix and chill.  Strain into a large cocktail glass (I use my 6 oz glass) and garnish with 3-4 fresh cranberries.

This is a sure fire winner with a slight rasberry flavor from the Chambord.  Not too sweet, and not too boozy, too many of these and you’ll be wrecking your sleigh, so be careful!

Cheers!

Haunted Houses and the Klavier

Day 182, Cocktail 177

Yesterday marked the start of the Halloween “season”, at least for me.  Just like I don’t think Christmas should last for 6 months, I don’t think Halloween should last the entire month of October – a week is enough for me.

As we did last year, Gwen and I headed to the Hartford Jaycees haunted house in Slinger with the Newcomers group.  We had a total of six of us and the girls made good work of a flask to add some entertainment to the 90 minute wait.  Finally, our group was called and it was through the haunted forest and then all three levels of the house.  If you’re looking for a haunted house this Halloween, definately give the Hartford Jaycess a try!

Also, as we did last year, we started at the Klavier Lounge in Germantown.  This was a our meeting point and a good place for a cocktail.  Kris Peters has done a great job of bringing an upscale lounge to Germantown with good cocktails and a great atmosphere.  The Klavier features a long list of house speciality cocktails.  I had the Majesty’s Pomegranate and it was delicious! 

  Majesty’s Pomegranate

• Ketel One Citrus Vodka
• grapefruit juice
• pomegranage juice
• lime juice

The juices all blend very well together, with the lime and grapefruit mellowing out the sweetness of the pomegranate.  There is just enough Ketel One to let you know that it is there, but its not overpowering.  It really is a very good blend of fruity and boozy — just right!

Enjoy your Halloween season!

Cheers!